Michael Bazemore enters his fifth year as director of athletics at MSU Billings during the 2025-26 academic year.
Under his leadership, the athletics department has maintained an academic standard of a 3.2 departmental grade point average and graduated upwards of 85% of eligible senior student-athletes annually. Over the past four years, Bazemore and the administration team has helped usher in 147 academic All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) selections, 7 NCAA at large tournament selections, 2 GNAC regular season champions, 3 All-Americans, 23 All-Regions, 120 All-GNAC selections, and 19 GNAC special awards which includes 5 Coach of the Year and 3 Player of the Year selections. In 2025, the Baseball program secured it’s first NCAA Tournament victory and Women’s Golf earned their first individual NCAA Regional Tournament qualifier. With the help of the administration (athletics and institutional), he has been instrumental with facility upgrades which include turf resurfacing and adding lights at Yellowjacket Soccer Field, and adding a digital scorer’s table at Alterowitz Gymnasium. Bazemore has also helped finalize a partnership with the Billings Exchange Club that provides a Beer Garden at select athletic events. In addition, he partnered with Rocky Mountain College to launch the Rimrock Rivalry, which is an annual formalization of the two institutions’ rivalry series in common sports.
Bazemore, who previously served in a variety of roles in the Yellowjacket athletic department from 2012-16, returned to MSUB after gaining five years of experience at the Division II level from 2016-21. Most recently, Bazemore served as the assistant director of academic and membership affairs for the NCAA national office in Indianapolis for three years from 2018-21. He was responsible for providing NCAA bylaw interpretations for member institutions, processing legislative relief waivers, and was the primary contact for the Division II institutional performance program. Bazemore also served as a NCAA liaison to the Division II Membership Committee, Division II Championships Committee, and Division I Football Oversight Committee with primary oversight of the Student-Athlete Connection group.
Bazemore had stints at NCAA Division II Truman State University and Metropolitan State University of Denver upon departing MSUB, where he had sport supervision and oversaw internal operations and compliance, prior to beginning his role at the NCAA office.
In his previous role of compliance director at MSUB, Bazemore oversaw the NCAA compliance for all of MSUB's varsity sports teams, including student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, and all appropriate university personnel. He also monitored the NCAA-mandated requirements as well as all the rules and regulations set forth by the NCAA.
Bazemore is a current member of the Division II Athletic Directors Association (D2 ADA) and the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA). He currently serves on the NCAA Division II Membership Committee and as a board member for the D2 ADA. Previously, Bazemore served on the Chi Alpha Sigma Board of Directors, chairing his last year, and also served on the MOAA Board of Directors and the Symposium Planning committee. In June 2015, Bazemore served as a facilitator for the NCAA Career In Sports Forum; and he was also selected as a mentee in the D2 ADA Mentor Program for the 2015-16 academic term. In addition, Bazemore participated in the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute, graduating in 2017.
As the Assistant Director of Operations and Media Relations at MSUB, Bazemore was responsible for complete coverage of men's and women's soccer, women's basketball, baseball, and men's and women's tennis, along with assisting in coverage of all varsity team media relations. He also managed MSUB's work-study program.
Prior to his appointment at MSU Billings Bazemore completed an internship with the intercollegiate athletic department.
A native of Philadelphia, Penn., Bazemore completed his master’s degree at Montana State University Billings in Sports, Recreation and Fitness Management in May of 2014. His undergraduate studies were completed at Michigan State University where he earned two bachelor’s degrees; Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science (2005) and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (2006).
Bazemore attended Michigan State on an athletic scholarship, and was a four-year letter winner for the varsity football team. He was a defensive starter for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and earned academic all-Big-Ten honors during the 2002 season. Prior to Michigan State, Bazemore attended West Catholic Prep High School (Philadelphia, Penn.) and was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame for Football in 2014.
After his tenure at Michigan State, Bazemore pursued a career in professional football. He attended the Detroit Lions rookie minicamp during the 2006 season, then played arena football from 2007 through 2011. While playing for the Billings Outlaws and Sioux Falls Storm, he was selected to the all-league team three times and earned three league championships. Following a successful career in the Indoor Football League (IFL), Bazemore has landed on the finalist nomination list for the association’s Hall of Fame several times, with the most recent year coming in 2024.
In addition to being a professional athlete, Bazemore also has experience as a coach and administrator in the professional ranks. He served as a Player Coach for the defensive line with the Billings Outlaws and served as the Director of Player Personnel and Defensive Line Coach for the Billings Wolves (IFL).
As a graduate student, Bazemore held internship positions with the University of Sioux Falls and Montana State University Billings intercollegiate athletic departments. He assisted with various administrative, compliance, sports information, and game day operations. Bazemore was also a student-teacher at MSUB and recently instructed the HHP 292: Coaching Football course during the 2011 fall semester.
Bazemore and his wife Dr. Jaime Bazemore reside in Billings with their two children Maxwell and Major.
